New Jersey Man Sentenced to Six Months for Crashing into Chabad World Headquarters

A 36-year-old man from New Jersey, Dan Sohail, was sentenced to six months and one week in prison after deliberately crashing his vehicle into the global headquarters of Chabad in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, in January 2026. Sohail was convicted of intentionally damaging religious property and ordered to pay $20,000 in damages. The Brooklyn court rejected the prosecution's request to extend his sentence by eight months, noting he had already served about six months in custody and is expected to be released in approximately one week.

The incident occurred at 770 Eastern Parkway, the Chabad world center, where Sohail drove his car into the building's entrance. After exiting the vehicle, he claimed it had "slipped," but evidence suggested the act was intentional. Sohail's defense attorney, Maya Eisner-Greenberg, argued that he was suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder at the time and that the act was not motivated by hate. She stated that Sohail had been seeking a sense of belonging and understanding through exploring Judaism and had visited the Chabad center multiple times before the incident to befriend its members.